HON. PETER B. SKELOS' ARTICLE “RESOLVING TRUST AND ESTATE DISPUTES UTILIZING VIRTUAL ADR” FEATURED IN THE NEW YORK LAW JOURNAL ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION SPECIAL REPORT
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“The limited reopening of the courthouses call for a renewed look at ADR as a means of servicing the needs of clients engaged in contested estate and trust matters. It is incumbent on the practicing estate and trust bar to engage alternative means of resolving contested matters. Alternative dispute resolution – mediation using state-of-the-art videoconference technology is the answer”
Hon. Peter B. Skelos, J.S.C. (Ret.)
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New York, NY (August 10, 2020) – NAM (National Arbitration and Mediation), one of the nation's leading providers of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), is pleased to announce that the Honorable Peter B. Skelos' article, Resolving Trust and Estate Disputes Utilizing Virtual ADR, was recently published in the New York Law Journal's ADR Special Report.
In the article, Judge Skelos draws upon his many years of experience on the bench and as a neutral and addresses how Alternative Dispute Resolution, and in particular, mediation, should be considered when resolving trust and estate disputes. He explains that “the weight is all the more heavier following the closure of the courthouses and the limits placed on the reopened courts with the Covid-19 pandemic”.
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Estate litigation opens the family's dirty laundry. The pleadings and affidavits are part of the public record. Videoconference mediations, no less than in-person mediations, provide a private secure and confidential environment.”
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Judge Skelos examines how video technology or Virutal ADR is particularly suited to the resolution of emotionally charged disputes. He states “The videoconference gives the parties one of the most important benefits of mediation – the empowerment of self-determination. The parties are working with a neutral person who is facilitating a resolution of their dispute. In the end, it is the parties who control the outcome. “
To read Judge Skelos' article, Resolving Trust and Estate Disputes Utilizing Virtual ADR, click here.
Honorable Peter B. Skelos' career includes 11 years spent as an Associate Justice of the Appellate Division of the New York State Supreme Court, Second Judicial Department where he served until his retirement in 2015. Throughout his many years on the bench, he was known for having a keen legal intellect with compassion for those who appeared before him and is rated “Highly Qualified” by the New York State Independent Judicial Election Qualification Commission. Judge Skelos' experience both on the bench and in private practice, gives him a broad range of knowledge in numerous areas of the law including construction litigation, professional liability and insurance coverage disputes. In 2019, for the fourth year in a row, Judge Skelos was voted a Top Ten Neutral in the New York Law Journal Best Of Survey and in 2018, for the second straight year, he was named a National Law Journal Alternative Dispute Resolution Champion, as part of a select group of only 46 nationwide.
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